FKT: Mark Ravaglia - Mauna Kea (HI) - 2020-08-02

Sylvia came up with the idea for this run as a way to see the variety the big island has to offer. I'm sure she would have done it in 2020 if she had had the chance. I started off by hiking down into Waipio, as that seemed only proper. Thanks to Willie for dropping me off at the top by the lookout. The weather was perfect. I was happy that i'd pushed the run off a week due to a tropical storm the day before. Waipio had its normal crew of horses and people. Starting on the black sand beach was wonderful. Crossing the stream I talked with a couple who were finding the crossing tricky. I saw them again just at the top of the road down to Waipio. They had caught a ride up and were amazed at how far I'd run. It seemed easiest not to explain where I was trying to get to. I topped up my water in the bathroom before heading towards Mud Lane. Mud Lane was a little grown up, but pretty as ever. The stretch of the highway towards town was fine, and mana rd. was familiar. Joe met me by where the gravel starts. His truck is quite the roving aid station. He met me again 6 miles up where I turned off into pasture. I was able to top up my water then. I had a 2 L bladder and 3 soft flasks in case I got thirsty over night. I ran out of water just a bit before the visitor center. R1 was beautiful, especially the silverswords. It was a full moon and more plant life than normal due to the rains the week before. It stayed clear during the night, but I still needed the headlamp. The footing on R1 was as obnoxious as always. Sunrise was gorgeous, though it took me a bit longer to make it to the maunea kea visitor center than I had hoped. Patricia topped me up with water at the visitor center. I checked in with the policeman before hiking up and asked where the trail was. He pointed me somewhat in the wrong direction, but it was pretty clear where I should go. The first chunk of the hike up Mauna Kea made me grateful for my trekking poles. My pace kept dropping and I lost track a bit of how far I had to go. The only time I'd ever been on the trail before was years about with Sylv and Tiff. Sylv was her usual wanting to go as far as possible to see what came next, but we didn't have that much time so only made part of it. The last quarter mile or so was obnoxious. I didn't realise the trail ends and so you need to head up on the road. Robyn, Tiff and Pemma met me by the telescopes slightly below the summit. I respected the sign and so for cultural reasons stopped there. It was wonderful to have a ride down.